The present invention concerns devices for cracking nuts. More particularly the invention is directed to such a device in combination with a receptacle for containing the nuts as well as the shells after the nuts have been cracked.
Nutcracking implements are certainly of very ancient origin. Over the years, various lever-actuated implements have been devised for cracking nuts. Two such devices are shown in Hahn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,430 and Truax, U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,715. These two patents, like many others, focus upon sophisticated lever and fulcrum mechanisms to reduce the amount of force required to crack a nut.
Other prior devices have provided means for preventing the shell fragments from shooting out of the nutcracking apparatus. For instance, the Adams, U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,651,shows a cracking lever mounted in a carrying tray in which the nut is almost completely enclosed within a cracking chamber. The cracking chamber is defined in part by the cracking lever and side walls extending downward from the lever. In the Straw, U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,663, a circular bowl includes a pedestal extending upward through the center of the bowl for supporting the nut. The cracking lever includes a circular shield mounted thereon for confining the flying fragments of the nutshell as the nut is cracked. In both the Straw and Adams patents, the nut shell fragments are directed back into a tray surrounding the nutcracking chamber or pedestal.
The Davis U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,938, also includes a shield which is slide mounted onto the cracking lever. In the Davis patent, two separate containers are provided--one for storing nuts and one for receiving the shells from the nuts after they are cracked. This second container is mounted on the edge of the nut container with a pedestal or rod extending through the shell container for supporting the cracking lever.
The design Carlson U.S. Pat. Des. 158,932, shows a combined bowl and nutcracker. However, the Carlson apparatus includes no means for separating uncracked nuts and the shells of cracked and eaten nuts.
In spite of the plethora of nutcracker designs, there remains a need for a nutcracker which is readily and easily used by people with certain handicaps that restrict their ability to use their hands and arms. It has been found that people with impaired hand motor skills have difficulty using the nutcracking devices of the prior art, including those devices in which the cracking lever arm is mounted on a cracking base or in a container, such as in the several patents discussed above. It is often particularly difficult for persons with impaired hand functions to remove the shell fragments from the nutcracking station, particularly where shields are provided for restricting and containing flying shell fragments.
There is therefore a need for a nutcracking apparatus which is readily usable by persons with impaired hand motor skills. Moreover, there is a need for such an apparatus that provides contiguous containers for both the nuts and the shell fragments after the nut is cracked. This nutcracking apparatus also requires some means for containing shell fragments as the nut is being cracked so that handicapped persons can easily collect the fragments for later disposal.